Cosmic horror, also known as Lovecraftian horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction that emphasizes the cosmic insignificance of humanity and the incomprehensibility of the universe. It is named after H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), an American author who is one of the most influential figures in this genre. The defining characteristics of cosmic horror include:
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Unknown and Unknowable Forces: The horror stems from the realization that there are ancient, cosmic entities or forces beyond human understanding, which exist on a scale far beyond the human scope of understanding or control.
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Insignificance of Humanity: It highlights the idea that human beings, their beliefs, and their understanding of the world are utterly insignificant in the grand scheme of the cosmos.
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Inevitability and Despair: Unlike traditional horror that might involve defeating the monster or surviving the haunted house, cosmic horror often involves a sense of inevitability and despair, with characters realizing their powerlessness against the vast, uncaring universe.
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Indescribable Entities: Lovecraft and authors inspired by him often describe their monsters and cosmic entities as indescribable or beyond human comprehension, emphasizing the limits of human perception and understanding.
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Madness: Exposure to these cosmic truths often leads to madness, as the human mind is not capable of fully comprehending or accepting them.
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Atmosphere and Mood Over Action: Cosmic horror stories often prioritize creating a mood of dread and unease over physical horror or action. The fear comes more from the existential dread and the anticipation of horrors to come than from explicit violence or threats.
Cosmic horror explores themes of existential dread, nihilism, and the fragility of human knowledge and existence. It has influenced a wide range of literature, films, video games, and art, extending far beyond Lovecraft's own writings.
Cosmic horror tropes are specific elements, themes, or motifs commonly found within the cosmic horror genre. These tropes help establish the genre's unique sense of existential dread, incomprehensibility, and the insignificance of humanity. Here are some key cosmic horror tropes:
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Incomprehensible Entities: Beings that exist beyond the scope of human understanding, often described in vague or contradictory terms to highlight their alien nature. These entities are not bound by the laws of physics or logic as humans understand them.
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Ancient Secrets and Forbidden Knowledge: Characters may stumble upon ancient texts, artifacts, or secrets that reveal uncomfortable truths about the universe and the entities that dwell within it. This knowledge is often dangerous, leading to madness, death, or worse for those who uncover it.
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Insignificance of Humanity: A fundamental theme where humans are shown to be utterly powerless and insignificant in the grand cosmic scheme. This trope challenges the anthropocentric view of the universe.
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Madness as a Consequence: Exposure to cosmic entities or the truths about the universe often results in psychological breakdown, insanity, or irreversible changes in perception for the characters involved.
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The Unknowable and Unseen Horror: Horror that stems more from what is suggested or imagined than what is explicitly shown. The fear of the unknown and the unseen is more profound than the fear of any monster or entity that can be fully described or understood.
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Cosmic Indifference: The idea that the universe and its ancient inhabitants are indifferent to the fate of humanity. Unlike traditional horror antagonists, cosmic entities often do not harbor malice or evil intentions; their actions are simply beyond human comprehension.
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Decay and Ruination: Settings often include ancient ruins, decaying cities, or other environments that suggest a long-gone era of greater knowledge or power, now lost to time and incomprehensible to modern humans.
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Dreams and Visions: Dreams play a significant role in revealing truths or connections to the cosmic entities. Characters may experience prophetic dreams, visions, or travel to other dimensions through dream-like states.
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Non-Euclidean Geometry and Alien Architecture: Descriptions of spaces and structures that defy conventional physics and geometry, suggesting the influence of entities from beyond our understanding.
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Cults and Esoteric Societies: Groups of humans who worship or seek to commune with the cosmic entities, often seeking forbidden knowledge or attempting to bring about some apocalyptic event to usher in the return or awakening of their deity.
These tropes work together to create a genre that's less about jump scares and more about a profound existential unease, questioning our place in the universe and what lies beyond the edge of the known.
Cosmic horror, with its roots deeply embedded in the themes of existential dread and the incomprehensible nature of the universe, branches into various subgenres, each taking a unique approach to these themes. Here are some of the most popular subgenres within cosmic horror:
- Lovecraftian Horror: Directly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, this subgenre focuses on the insignificance of humanity, ancient gods, and beings beyond comprehension. It often includes elements like forbidden knowledge, non-Euclidean geometry, and the inevitable descent into madness upon learning the true nature of reality.
- Work: "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft
- Medium: Short Story
- This seminal work is foundational to the genre, introducing the Great Old Ones and the concept of ancient, incomprehensible beings.
- Psychological Cosmic Horror: This subgenre emphasizes the psychological impact of the cosmic horror elements on the characters, exploring the mental and emotional unraveling that occurs when faced with the incomprehensible or the realization of humanity’s insignificance.
- Work: "Annihilation" by Jeff VanderMeer
- Medium: Novel
- The first book in the Southern Reach Trilogy, "Annihilation" explores the psychological effects on a team of scientists exploring an anomalous area known as Area X, where the laws of nature don't apply.
- Sci-Fi Cosmic Horror: Merging science fiction with cosmic horror, this subgenre explores themes of alien civilizations, space exploration, and encounters with entities or forces that challenge our understanding of the universe. It often deals with the vastness of space and the horrors that might lurk in its depths.
- Work: "Event Horizon" (1997)
- Medium: Film
- A sci-fi horror film where a spaceship encounters a malevolent cosmic entity in deep space, leading to terrifying consequences for the crew.
- Supernatural Cosmic Horror: Focusing on the supernatural elements, this subgenre blends the cosmic horror themes with more traditional supernatural horror, such as ghosts, spirits, and otherworldly dimensions. The cosmic elements are often portrayed through the lens of these supernatural occurrences.
- Work: "The Mothman Prophecies" by John Keel
- Medium: Novel
- Blending supernatural elements with cosmic horror, the book explores the Mothman sightings and other paranormal events in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, suggesting a connection to other dimensions or cosmic entities.
- Apocalyptic Cosmic Horror: This subgenre centers around apocalyptic themes, where the cosmic horror leads to or is part of an impending apocalypse. It explores the end of humanity or civilization as brought about by cosmic entities or the revelation of cosmic truths.
- Work: "The Mist" by Stephen King
- Medium: Novella
- Following a freak storm, a small town is enveloped in an unnatural mist that conceals otherworldly monsters, leading to societal breakdown and existential dread.
- Folk Cosmic Horror: Integrating folklore and cosmic horror, this subgenre explores how local legends, myths, and folklore intersect with cosmic themes. It often delves into how ancient beings or cosmic horrors have influenced humanity through myth and legend.
- Folk Cosmic Horror
- Work: "The Ritual" by Adam Nevill
- Medium: Novel
- A novel that combines Nordic mythology with cosmic horror, as four friends encounter an ancient being in the Scandinavian wilderness.
- Surreal Cosmic Horror: Emphasizing surreal and often abstract narratives, this subgenre blends cosmic horror with surrealism, creating a dream-like or nightmarish quality where the boundaries of reality are blurred, reflecting the incomprehensible nature of the cosmic horror elements.
- Surreal Cosmic Horror
- Work: "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski
- Medium: Novel
- This novel features a house that defies physical dimensions, leading to a surreal and unsettling journey into darkness that mirrors the cosmic horror theme of incomprehensibility.
- Existential Cosmic Horror: This subgenre focuses on the existential aspects of cosmic horror, pondering the meaninglessness of existence and the absurdity of the human condition when faced with the vast, uncaring universe.
- Work: "The Color Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft
- Medium: Short Story
- Focusing on the impact of an extraterrestrial entity on a rural farm, this story explores themes of existential dread and the insignificance of humanity.
Each of these subgenres explores different facets of cosmic horror, from the depths of space to the intricacies of the human mind, all while maintaining the core themes of incomprehensibility, existential dread, and the utter insignificance of humanity in the face of the cosmos.
Creating a continuum between "horror fiction" and "cosmic horror fiction" involves tracing a path through various subgenres that progressively incorporate more elements of existential dread, the insignificance of humanity, and the unknowable nature of the universe. Here's a continuum that transitions from traditional horror towards the distinctive themes of cosmic horror, with an example for each subgenre:
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Gothic Horror
- Description: Characterized by its focus on atmosphere, setting, and a complex interplay of horror, death, and sometimes romance. It often features ancient curses, haunted landscapes, and the supernatural.
- Work: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
- Medium: Novel
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Psychological Horror
- Description: Focuses on the mental, emotional, and psychological states of characters to incite fear. It explores the inner workings of the human mind, often blurring the lines between reality and nightmare.
- Work: "The Shining" by Stephen King
- Medium: Novel
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Supernatural Horror
- Description: Involves horror elements that defy natural laws, including ghosts, demons, and other entities. It explores themes of the unknown and the unexplainable beyond human comprehension.
- Work: "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
- Medium: Novel
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Slasher Horror
- Description: Centers on a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually with a knife or a similar weapon. The emphasis is on the suspense, the sequence of killings, and often the killer's motivation.
- Work: "Halloween" (1978)
- Medium: Film
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Body Horror
- Description: Focuses on the violation, transformation, or mutilation of the body. It taps into fears of bodily harm, disease, and the loss of personal identity through physical change.
- Work: "The Fly" (1986)
- Medium: Film
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Folk Horror
- Description: Draws on rural settings, folklore, and pagan traditions to create stories of isolation, the arcane, and the horror of the ancient and unknowable past. It often explores the clash between the ancient and the modern.
- Work: "Midsommar" (2019)
- Medium: Film
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Sci-Fi Horror
- Description: Merges science fiction elements with horror, often involving alien invasions, mad scientists, or experiments gone wrong. It explores the fear of the unknown and the horrors of scientific advancement.
- Work: "Alien" (1979)
- Medium: Film
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Lovecraftian Horror
- Description: A subgenre of cosmic horror that emphasizes the cosmic insignificance of humankind and often features encounters with ancient, incomprehensible beings. It is directly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
- Work: "At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P. Lovecraft
- Medium: Novel
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Cosmicism
- Description: Not purely a subgenre but a philosophy central to cosmic horror, highlighting the idea that humans are insignificant in the vast, indifferent universe, and that there are realities beyond human comprehension.
- Work: "The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft
- Medium: Short Story
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Cosmic Horror Fiction
- Description: The pinnacle of the continuum, focusing on existential dread, the unknowable nature of the universe, and often the futility of fighting against incomprehensible cosmic forces.
- Work: "Annihilation" by Jeff VanderMeer
- Medium: Novel
This progression illustrates how horror evolves from tangible, physical fears to the existential and abstract, culminating in the exploration of our place in an indifferent and often incomprehensible universe.